Chapter 290: Just One Hit
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 290: Just One Hit
Currently, there are only seven Orichalcum-grade explorers officially recognized by the Guild Headquarters—the final administrative body for the Explorer’s Guild located in Capital Veritas.
The number of Titanium-grade explorers is 67, less than ten times that of Orichalcum, while Palladium Grade stands at approximately 180. Cobalt Grade counts around 600. Out of a total of roughly 40,000 explorers, those at Palladium Grade or higher account for less than one percent.
The most populated rank is Iron Grade, with about 10,500 explorers. Silver Grade, often called the pinnacle of effort, maintains a steady count of 8,300, while Gold and Platinum Grades hold at 4,800 and 2,400 respectively.
Brass Grade, which can be considered the apprentice level, has about 4,600 people, and Lead Grade follows Iron with a large crowd of 8,800.
This means that the vast majority of explorers—nearly 70 percent—are concentrated in the three grades of Lead, Iron, and Silver.
“Generational shifts in the Orichalcum Grade are slower than you’d think. The most recent person to reach Orichalcum was Skaeda Justitia, four years ago.”
“I’ve met her.”
“She was quite young, wasn’t she? The whole world was in an uproar.”
It wasn't a rank one could reach simply by being somewhat strong and accumulating achievements over time. While Palladium Grade could be seen as the limit for long-term experience, Titanium and Orichalcum Grades were unattainable without exceptional martial prowess, no matter how many years of service one put in.
“That’s why there are quite a few older explorers in the Palladium Grade.”
Is that why Delbaheim, the half-elf, is Palladium? I heard she’s lived for over a hundred years.
“So Cobalt Grade is the top two percent? It certainly earns its reputation as the threshold of the elite.”
600 out of 40,000? It finally made sense why Cobalt Grade was considered the absolute peak in most small-to-medium Labyrinth Cities.
In a Great Labyrinth City like Calax, dozens of Cobalt-grade explorers might be gathered in one place, but in smaller cities where the maximum depth was below the 50th Floor, a Cobalt-grade explorer was bound to be the strongest.
There were fewer than 200 Labyrinth Cities in total; if one Palladium-grade explorer were assigned to each, there might not even be enough to go around.
Of course, in reality, Palladium-grade explorers had to group up to tackle deeper labyrinths, so such a distribution was impossible anyway.
“The southern region of the Surface follows the older Hechituk system. I heard they have about 30,000 explorers across eight grades, with similar ratios. There are quite a few Eight-Star Explorers there, who are considered equivalent to the Orichalcum Grade.”
“I see.”
The massive continental island known as the ‘Surface’ was shaped like a mirrored ‘L,’ making the northern region much broader than the south. Population density was also extreme in the south, with half of all southern explorers concentrated in the single city of Hechituk.
“The world went wild for Skaeda, but things seem pretty quiet for me.”
“Well, that’s because you haven’t had any achievements known to the public yet, right?”
“I’m starting to feel a bit slighted. Shouldn’t the Guild Headquarters be hanging up banners for me or something?”
“Pfft…”
Dora let out a chuckle at my remark before speaking.
“You can just do what Skaeda Justitia did. Hollow Breeze is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
“Did Skaeda make a name for herself during Hollow Breeze too?”
“Did you live in the middle of nowhere or something…?”
Four years ago was a time when I didn't even exist in this world. Surprisingly, by this world's standards, I wasn't even old enough for a first birthday party yet.
“Hollow Breeze… I definitely have to go.”
“Aven, I didn’t know you were greedy for fame.”
“Half of me wants to live quietly, but the other half thinks it wouldn’t be bad to be famous.”
“Heh, I see.”
Dora stared at me intently for a moment, then nodded as if a good idea had struck her.
“Anyway, when you’re in combat, you change so much that no one can recognize you, right?”
“That’s true.”
“Then can’t you live quietly while also being famous?”
I understood what she was getting at. Surprisingly few people knew that my Combat Form was actually the human Yoo Eon. Aside from the higher-ups at the Guild Headquarters and the high-ranking explorers of Calax, almost no one knew the truth.
“Branding is important for an explorer. It’s a basic instinct for most living things to be drawn to a cool appearance.”
“I think I heard that a pretty, young Cobalt-grade explorer is more popular than an ugly Palladium one.”
High-ranking explorers were like idols. Since there were no actors or singers, explorers filled that void and formed their own fandoms.
“It’s a bit unseemly for an Orichalcum Grade to travel all over the Surface just to promote themselves, right? But Hollow Breeze is an event where the eyes of everyone on the Surface are focused.”
“I already had business there, but hearing this makes me feel a bit more motivated.”
“And famous explorers get cool ‘titles.’ For example… Soles Getia’s ‘White Night’?”
“White Night? What does that mean?”
“It means a white night. His whole body becomes engulfed in massive flames like the sun. They say it’s as if the sun has risen even in the middle of the night.”
“Wow, that’s actually pretty cool.”
At this rate, I’d probably end up with a title like ‘Flesh Golem.’ Or maybe just ‘Monster’…
“Someone called you the Black Knight before.”
“Black Knight… It doesn’t really resonate with me lately.”
“Why? Isn’t it cool?”
“Who would look at you now and think you’re a knight?”
“That hurts. Stop hitting me where it counts.”
I certainly wasn't a knight. Who would look at a flaming fighter jet and think of a knight?
* * *
“So, Iris.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think? The Legion Commander causing the Hollow Breeze. Can I win?”
Iris fell into thought for a moment at my question. Or was she? Was she just spacing out? She was always so still that I could never tell.
“It won’t be easy.”
“Why? I completely trashed the Succubus Queen, and she’s a Legion Commander too.”
“Lilith Astaroth has the lowest individual combat power among the Legion Commanders.”
Oh boy, here we go again. The ‘weakest of the four heavenly kings’ trope.
Actually, it made sense. Even if she was the Succubus Lord, their whole deal was barely scraping by by sucking out essence through brainwashing.
The true value of her Treasure lay in tearing holes between the Demon Realm and the Surface to summon armies; there was never any mention of her own combat power skyrocketing.
“But I heard the difficulty of Hollow Breeze has gone down.”
“Yes.”
“Why is that? People on the Surface say it’s become easier to block because they treat it like a festival.”
It sounded absurd, but the name ‘Hollow Breeze’ itself was a result of that influence.
The original name used in the past was ‘Hollow Tempest,’ implying a storm far more powerful than a mere breeze or draft.
“You’ll find out in time.”
“Tsk… So even if it’s weakened, it’s still a tough opponent?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
If it wasn't a case of ‘it’s weakened but still strong,’ then what?
“If that thing actually appears on the Surface, its power will be restored.”
“Restored? You mean it’ll go back to the Hollow Tempest days?”
“It might even become something more than that.”
That meant all the efforts to lower the impact of Hollow Breeze through festivals would be completely reset the moment the Legion Commander appeared. Or even worse, it could become far more powerful than ever before.
“But doesn’t that Legion Commander fellow usually show up when Hollow Breeze occurs?”
“No. He has never personally shown his face until now.”
“Then what exactly is Hollow Breeze…?”
“Purely his subordinates.”
“So you’re saying it’s dangerous enough that high-ranking explorers die in droves just from the subordinates alone.”
If the Necro Lord actually manifested on the Surface during this Hollow Breeze, his undead army would regain its former lethality.
And with the addition of the Legion Commander’s own martial might, the Surface would be beyond a mess. It would be total chaos.
“I guess I really need to go eat that 70th Floor Boss Entity.”
“Probably.”
“Are you coming with me?”
“If you want.”
“I want.”
“How lewd.”
“What is wrong with this woman?”
Of course, consuming the 70th Floor Boss didn't mean I’d automatically gain enough power to easily defeat a Legion Commander.
I still had a little over a month left, so I’d have to practice hard in the meantime.
“This two-month vacation feels shorter than I thought.”
“Be grateful you even have one.”
“Do people usually not get them?”
“No.”
I worked so hard in my previous world, and yet here I am, struggling just as much. Maybe it’s just my nature that I can’t stay still.
Regardless, now that the next goal was set, my mind felt more at ease. This was better than just eating and playing for two months while waiting for Hollow Breeze.
“It’s almost autumn.”
As the weather began to cool, memories of when I first arrived here came flooding back. To be honest, they were mostly terrible memories—returning to the inn heavily injured every time I entered the labyrinth.
Back then, when I encountered that pack of Direwolves on the 3rd Floor, I would have died on the spot if this ability hadn't activated properly.
“Well, I should take the opportunity to restock on some useful monsters while I’m at it.”
“Good luck.”
“You said you were coming with me. Aren’t you going to help?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then why are you even coming?”
“Because I’m bored.”
I really, really wanted to give her a good smack on the crown of her head.